http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/4166 DAPQA Tue, 14 Apr 2026 23:13:11 GMT 2026-04-14T23:13:11Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/4175 Effectiveness of National Sanitation Day as a community participatory approach for improving environmental sanitation in Edina Traditional Area, Ghana Mensah, Justice Purpose – Poor environmental sanitation affects environmental quality and health. Ghana is a developing country whose sanitation profile has been one of the lowest in the world in recent years. This has prompted various views regarding effective approaches for improving sanitation in Ghana for better environmental quality and health. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of National Sanitation Day (NSD) as a model for improving environmental sanitation in the Edina Traditional Area (ETA), Ghana. Design/methodology/approach – The study used key informant interviews and focus group discussions to collect qualitative data from purposively selected participants from predominantly fishing and farming communities in the ETA, Ghana. Data were analysed thematically and presented using interpretive narratives and most significant stories. Findings – Results showed a high level of community awareness of the model but low participation in the intervention, culminating in the model’s ineffectiveness to make any meaningful impact on improved sanitation in the study area. Key factors responsible for the model’s ineffectiveness include apathy, inadequate logistics, politics and attitude. Practical implications – Government should engage more effectively with the municipal assembly, private sanitation companies and community level authorities to address the political, logistical, attitudinal and institutional challenges associated with the model to ensure effective participation in the NSD for better sanitation outcomes, leading to improved environmental quality and health for sustainable development. Originality/value – This is one of the few studies that have evaluated the effectiveness of the NSD in Ghana since the model was introduced in the country in 2014. The outcome of the study could inform sanitation management policy, practice and research in Ghana as well as other developing countries that may adopt or adapt Ghana’s model. 19p, ill. Thu, 01 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/4175 2019-08-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/4171 Implications of environmental sanitation management for sustainable livelihoods in the catchment area of Benya Lagoon in Ghana Mensah, Justice; Enu-Kwesi, Francis The study explored the implications of environmental sanitation for three coastal livelihood activities, namely fishing, tourism and salt production. Qualitative data were collected from purposively selected respondents through key informant interviews and focus group discussions, and analysed using thematic and most significant stories approaches. The study found that sanitation affected livelihoods associated with tourism, fishing and salt production through its implications for health, productivity, income, job security and sustainability of the physical environment. However, while virtually all respondents acknowledged the effect of sanitation on human capital through the health implications, a substantial part of the people who eked their living from the stated livelihood activities did not appreciate the link between sanitation and these livelihood avenues. Sanitation behavioural change communication messaging by the responsible actors should, therefore, stress the relevance of sanitation not only for human health but also the linkage between sanitation and sustainable livelihood in its entirety. i, 21p:, ill. Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/4171 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/4170 Sustainable development: Meaning, history, principles, pillars, and implications for human action: Literature review Mensah, Justice Sustainable development (SD) has become a popular catchphrase in contemporary development discourse. However, in spite of its pervasiveness and the massive popularity it has garnered over the years, the concept still seems unclear as many people continue to ask questions about its meaning and history, as well as what it entails and implies for development theory and practice. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the discourse on SD by further explaining the paradigm and its implications for human thinking and actions in the quest for sustainable development. This is done through extensive literature review, combining aspects of the “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and the Recursive Content Abstraction (RCA) analytical approach. The paper finds and argues that the entire issue of sustainable development centres around inter- and intragenerational equity anchored essentially on three-dimensional distinct but interconnected pillars, namely the environment, economy, and society. Decision-makers need to be constantly mindful of the relationships, complementarities, and trade-offs among these pillars and ensure responsible human behaviour and actions at the international, national, community and individual levels in order to uphold and promote the tenets of this paradigm in the interest of human development. More needs to be done by the key players— particularly the United Nations (UN), governments, private sector, and civil society organisations—in terms of policies, education and regulation on social, economic and environmental resource management to ensure that everyone is sustainable development aware, conscious, cultured and compliant. i, 21p:, ill. Wed, 14 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/4170 2019-08-14T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/4169 Managing environmental sanitation in the catchment area of Benya Lagoon, Ghana: Education, regulation or infrastructure management as a matter of strategic priority? Mensah, Justice Poor environmental sanitation is a menace in many parts of the world, but particularly so in the developing countries, including Ghana. While several strategies may be available for managing this environmental menace, interventions in education, regulation, and infrastructure appear to be the main options. However, resources for adequately managing all the three dimensions simultaneously are limited, necessitating prioritisation for efficient resource allocation for optimal interventional results. This study explored how the dimensions could be prioritised for efficient allocation of resources for effective sanitation management. Data were collected from purposively selected respondents mainly from the catchment area of Benya Lagoon in Ghana, using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, and analysed thematically using interpretive narratives and most significant stories. The study showed that, theoretically, each of the dimensions was supreme in its own right but not sufficient in itself as, in practice, they complemented one another for the best results. Most respondents prioritised the dimensions based on local-specific factors, suggesting that there was no one-size-fits-all prioritisation strategy. The factors were socio-economic, including income, educational level and residential class that influenced attitudes towards sanitation. The implication is that prioritisation decisions by the Government, NGOs, and private sanitation companies should be guided by situational analyses which are informed by these local-specific factors. In conducting such assessments and analyses, the local-level stakeholders, namely the local council, traditional authorities, assembly members, youth, religious leaders and other opinion leaders should be involved to ensure effective prioritisation assessment, leading to efficient resource allocation for effective interventions. i, 16p: ill. Thu, 26 Dec 2019 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/4169 2019-12-26T00:00:00Z